ALTHOUGH last year’s 40th anniversary of the Fastnet Rally could not be celebrated with the event itself, the Skibbereen and District Car Club marked the event with a special celebration day in November that culminated in raising €10,590. The funds raised were presented to the West Cork Rapid Response during the Clonakilty Agricultural Show.
At the presentation Dr Jason van der Velde from the West Cork Rapid Response told The Southern Star.
‘We have had a 16-year association with the Skibbereen and District Car Club supporting the Fastnet Rally over the years and indeed all the other smaller events within the club,’ he said.
‘The members of the club have been exceptionally generous over those years in keeping the service on the road and helping to support and look after their own community. The beauty of this charity (West Cork Rapid Response) is that it is everybody in West Cork’s charity. Every cent is spent on the jeep. There are no members being paid or anything like that. It is a 100 percent voluntary organisation run by the people of West Cork for the people of West Cork.
‘We are aware of some horrific tragedies in the rally world of recent times, the support of the club in looking after their own is tremendous and we hope that we can look after the club and its members and the people of West Cork well into the future.’
In tandem with the Fastnet 40 event, a GoFundMe page was set up by Dunmanway’s Conor McCarthy in association with the Skibbereen and District Car Club following the tragic death of Conor’s brother Eoin, who lost his life in a rally accident on the Castleisland based Killarney Forest Rally in February 2022. That fund generated €7,000 which has already been donated to Critical in north Cork. In effect, both organisations have benefitted accordingly.
The Skibbereen Club would like to thank everyone involved for their contributions. In relation to the Fastnet 40 night, they wish to acknowledge the extremely generous contributions from the West Cork Hotel and in particular Barry Looney, the event sponsors, and also Keohane Readymix, Hodnett Forde Auctioneers, Carbery Plastics, Tria Oil, MHC Properties, Cronin’s Homevalue, Clonakilty Engineering and Walsh Print & Graphics. Dermot Healy of the Killarney and District Motor Club kindly offered a helicopter trip that was auctioned off and purchased by club member Mairead O’Connell. Acesigns Signmakers were also thanked for their graphic input.
